Breath of Life
by Kaoupa
Summary: The Air Nomads were pacifists. To them, Airbending was a tool for everyday life and for amusement. Airbending cannot be used to kill. And everyone knows that. Except the Air Nomads. A "What-If" scenario if Iroh had been held up for a few minutes in Ba Sing Se. AU.


A/N: This story is a one shot. Slight warning; I haven't seen ATLA in a while, so some characters might be OOC by accident, but I'll do my best to keep them in character.

Disclaimer: In a perfect world, there would be no need for disclaimers about fanfiction writers not owning something. This world isn't perfect, and I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender.

My thanks goes to Kagaseo for betaing this story until I sent it out.

On the way to Ba Sing Se:

"So, what kind of trouble is Katara in?" Sokka questioned Aang, worry about his sister clear on his face.

"I don't know. In my vision, I just knew she needed help." Aang said.

"It'd be nice if your Avatar powers could be just a little more specific from time to time." Sokka deadpanned. Seriously, this was his sister! Couldn't… well, whoever was in charge up there be a little more specific?

Suddenly, the two heard rumbling. Looking around, they saw a large plume of dust being thrown up into the air ahead of them.

"What is that?" Upon getting closer, he realized who it was; namely, a friend.

"Need a ride?" Sokka yelled, causing Toph to lose focus and fall over.

Aang and Sokka winced.

After Toph got up...

"So how did it go with the guru? Did you master the Avatar State?" Toph asked.

Aang was quiet, remembering what he had done at the Eastern Air Temple.

"Aang, are you okay?" Sokka looked at Aang, puzzled by his brief silence.

"I'm great. It went great with the guru. I completely mastered the Avatar State. Heh heh… yeah." Aang sheepishly replied. _I'll have to go back when Katara's safe. _He thought quietly.

Ba Sing Se Royal Palace:

"Katara's fine! You have nothing to worry about." Kuei calmly reassured Aang, looking completely unconcerned about his warning.

"But… in my vision! I felt so sure she was in trouble!" Aang protested, worry spread over his face.

"Well, she met with the council of generals to plan the invasion, and since then, she's been off with your friends, the Kyoshi Warriors."

"See Aang? She's with Suki! They're probably back at our apartment right now talking about makeup or something." Sokka said, feeling much less worried now.

"Okay, maybe you're right." Inside, however, Aang seriously doubted the idea.

Gaang's house:

"There's no one else here." Toph said, using her tremorsense to get a look at the house.

"Katara _is_ in trouble. I knew it!" Aang exclaimed.

"Oh no… okay, what do we do now?" Sokka said, now clearly worried about his sister's wellbeing.

"When I had the vision, I saw she was underground. In a place with lots of crystals! We could go ask the Earth King where a place like that might be!" With a plan now in mind, Aang, Toph, and Sokka swiftly ran off to the Earth King's palace.

Iroh arrived a few minutes later with a Dai Li bound and gagged on his back, knocked on the door, and looked around when he saw that nobody was there.

"The coup." He thought. Calmly, he headed back towards the Royal Palace, not bothering to free the man he had left behind.

To his surprise, several Dai Li jumped down in his way.

"General Iroh. You are under arrest for attempting to overthrow the Earth Kingdom." One of them said calmly.

Iroh took a combat stance for firebending, realizing he would have to fight his way out.

Ba Sing Se Royal Palace

Aang really hated getting into these kinds of situations.

He could understand it if the spirits were mad at him for abandoning the world for a hundred years. He couldn't blame them for being mad at him, really. He was still angry at himself for his failure to protect the world. But he knew that anger would not solve what he had done wrong. As much as he missed the past… it was foolish to look to it when he had to focus on the present.

But seriously, he hated being placed in situations like these where people would definitely die if he messed something up.

The Earth King was being held captive. Azula had a blue flame pointing upwards from her fingertips, and from what he knew of her; namely, shooting her uncle just to create a distraction for escaping, he had little doubt that she would kill him if they didn't surrender. Even with her two cohorts bound in earth by him and Toph, he knew they had lost.

No.

An desperate idea surged through his mind; a memory of one of the last airbending techniques that he had been taught.

And also the memory what Monk Gyatso had told him after he had used it for the first, and so far only, time.

100 years ago, Southern Air Temple…

"_That was kind of… scary." Aang said, staring at the practice dummy that had been brought out for this airbending exercise. _

_Oddly, the duplicate human was extremely lifelike for a mere mannequin; it even possessed a mouth, nose, and slightly jointed arms and legs._

_Also, despite that it was supposed to be used for training airbenders who had earned their tattoos, there was not a single mark on the dummy._

"_Good."_

_Aang swiftly turned towards his mentor, with an expression of confusion on his face. "Wh… what do you mean, good!? That techn…"_

"_Is another part of our philosophy. And that fact that you find it disturbing is a good thing."_

_Confused as to what his mentor might mean, Aang said "How could something like that be used for good, Gyatso?"_

"_All things have a time and place to be used, Aang."_

"_I don't _want _to use it."_

"_As I said, that is a good thing." Gyatso responded. Then, he placed a hand to his chin. "Answer me, Aang. Why do you find this technique disturbing?"_

_Looking confused, Aang said after a while "... It's not a move you can use on your friends. It isn't meant for fun or self defense. It's just meant to hurt people or kill them."_

_Gyatso smiled, pleased with his student. "Exactly. You hate it because it is meant to be used for harm. Shall we go bake pies?"_

_Aang smiled._

"_Please."_

Later...

"_Thanks, Gyatso. It just hasn't been the same since I got told I was the Avatar…" Aang said as he used a pie tray to pull the pie out of the oven. "There's just no time to just relax anymore. Everything's supposed to be about fighting and training now, the other monks say… "_

"_Which is why they asked me to show you this." Gyatso calmly interjected._

"_I know, but… people will want me to do things like this more now, won't they?" Aang said quietly._

_Sensing the pain that was radiating off his surrogate son, Gyatso placed his hand over Aang's shoulder._

"_As I said, Aang, there is a time for everything. A time for work, a time for play, and for all else. And there may be a time you will have to use this technique as well."_

_Eyes on the ground, Aang said quietly "I hope I never have to, Gyatso."_

_Gyatso smiled._

"_Then that is a sign that you are indeed worthy to be the Avatar, Aang, if you worry about those you would fight against."_

"_Isn't the Avatar just supposed to restore balance by fighting people? Isn't that what the council wants me to do? Fight the Fire Nation?" Aang said, looking puzzled._

"_Partially… yes." Gyatso said calmly. "At times, restoring the balance is only made possible by stopping those who would seek to destroy it, but you must also remember, everything is a part of the balance. If the enemy can be reminded of the balance and peace and is willing to stop, there is no reason to fight them at all."_

_Aang muttered quietly. "I really hope I don't have to fight anybody."_

_Gyatso smiled, walked forward, and hugged his student. "And that is why I am proud of you, Aang."_

Ba Sing Se, Present Day

"Avatar. Since I don't trust your earthbender friend as much to not try anything… release them." Azula said calmly, nodding towards Ty Lee and Mai, who had been shackled to the wall with earthbending.

She had to admit, she was feeling very proud of herself right now.

She had proved her father and her nation right. Even the Avatar could do nothing when she had one of his comrades prisoner. He valued life.

Such a waste that he had such a weak philosophy; she could have used someone like him working for her.

" You're Azula? That's your name, right?" Aang said.

"Yeah, that's Azula!" Ty Lee said cheerfully.

"Could you surrender?" Aang said.

There was silence for several seconds, as everyone, even Kuei, stared at Aang.

The silence was broken by Azula, who sounded rather amused.

"_Surrender_? Surrender when I have the Earth King at my mercy, the Avatar unable to do anything for fear of his life, and the Dai Li working to bring this city to the Fire Nation?"

Azula smirked at Aang. "I wish I could keep you as a jester, Avatar…"

"_Please _surrender?" Aang said, with a pleading look on his face.

Azula didn't laugh, though she still looked rather amused before she spoke. "We have your waterbender friend, Avatar." She said calmly, causing Aang and Sokka's eyes to grow much wider, and Toph to clench her fists. "We got her to tell us what you were all doing. Now, surrender if you want to see her again."

Internally though, Azula was confused.

W_here are the Dai Li? They should have arrived by now!_

A look of despair coming over his face, Aang slowly placed his hands behind his back.

"Guys, do what she says."

"Good, Avatar." Azula smirked, but didn't move the fire dagger. "I see that you decided to submit to the superior ele-"

Before she finished her sentence, Aang's face changed, and he pushed his hands backwards.

A massive blast of wind came from behind Azula, catapulting both her and Kuei onto the floor.

Before Azula completely got up, Aang fired another wind burst at her, causing her to push herself away and get up completely, but well away from Kuei.

"I warned you, Avatar!" Azula said, releasing a fireball towards Kuei, who was frantically scrambling across the ground to get away from the Fire Nation royal.

"Get down!" Toph yelled, bringing an earth barrier up to protect the King.

"Toph, get him out of here!" Sokka yelled. "Aang, take care of her!" He added, pointing towards Azula, running towards the palace doors as he said it.

"Got it!" Aang kicked the ground, sending a rock flying towards Azula.

Dodging the fist-sized projectile, Azula launched another series of fireballs towards Aang, who blocked them with an earthbent shield.

Taking a quick look around for her temporary hostage, Azula noticed a large hole in the ground near her that was quickly sealing itself up.

_The blind girl went elsewhere with the King like the Tribe savage suggested…_ Azula pondered, launching another stream of fire towards the Avatar in the process of thinking, forcing him to dodge this time, but narrowly missing Mai.

_If this continues, I could burn Mai or Ty Lee… hurting them could cause future problems with their families. _Azula thought.

_Best to try mental warfare instead. He cares too much for his friend..._

"Remember when I said we got your waterbender friend to tell us what you were doing, Avatar?"

Aang scowled and held his staff in front of him with both hands.

Smirking, she added "Well, it would be more precise to say we got her to _scream_ what you were doing."

Aang paled, then grew red. He couldn't think clearly. There was only one thought in his mind now.

_Make. Her. HURT._

"Now, I've left orders behind with the Dai Li, so unless you release those two and surrender, she'll keep-"

Aang screamed himself, and began pulling his hands backwards in incredibly fast tugging motions.

Before Azula could say another word, a stream of air emerged from her mouth.

Eyes widening, Ty Lee, Mai, Sokka, and the members of the Royal Guard behind him watched in shock.

"You want to know a secret?" Aang said calmly.

The complete monotone in his voice disturbed everyone who heard it.

"I really try to be nice to everyone." Aang continued, watching as Azula continued gasping. "But people like you… you really make it hard." he added. "People who have all that power to help people… but just abuse it to bully everyone around them to do whatever they want without caring for what they might want."

Though she couldn't hear anything that Aang was saying, Azula instantly knew that she had to stop what he was doing.

Still gasping, Azula tried to rush forward.

Before she got ten feet, a massive slab of earth rose around her.

"I don't know what you're doing, Twinkletoes, but she's not doing anything, so keep doing it!" Toph yelled, sticking her head out of the ground like a badgermole emerging from its hole.

Quietly, Aang maintained his hands in claw-like positions as Azula continued gaping like a fish out of water.

"Wait! Please! _You're killing her_!" Ty Lee screamed, watching in horror as the sphere around Azula's head continued whirling.

Later

"Have to admit, that was pretty cool, what you did." Sokka said, watching as the Earth King's Royal Guard hauled the three Fire Nation teens away, outnumbering them at least ten to one each. All three had undergone full body searches, and had every last weapon found on them confiscated.

The knife-thrower had alarmed everyone with the sheer number of pointy objects they found on her.

Aang did not respond. He was sitting down hard against one of the pillars.

"Come on man!" Sokka exclaimed. "You just stopped Princess Creepy from killing the Earth King! You should celebrate!"

"I don't think that Aang wants to talk right now, Sokka…" Toph said. "And, since I _can't see, _what exactly did Aang do anyways?!"

Sokka responded rather bluntly "He pulled the air out of her lungs."

There was silence as Toph digested this.

"You can do that, Twinkletoes?" Toph said, sounding slightly creeped out.

Aang said nothing.

"Since he did it, yeah he can, Toph! Why didn't you do it before, Aang?!" Sokka looked rather annoyed. "You could have taken her out without a problem!"

Aang did not get up, or respond to either of them.

He had near

_I nearly killed her. She almost _died_. She _could _have died if I didn't stop._

"Aang? Aang, snap out of it!" Dimly, the airbender registered Toph's voice, sounding concerned. Shaking his head, he responded. "What? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Toph said. "You took out princess creepy… with that suffocation thing."

Eyes widening in realization, Sokka snapped "And if you could do that, why didn't you do it before!?"

"Well…" Aang started. "It's a forbidden art in the first place. And there wasn't enough time to do it before. She was attacking too fast for me to hold it so she couldn't firebend, I have to stay still to focus enough for it…"

_And I hate using it anyways_. Aang added mentally.

"_A _Forbidden art? You mean there are more?" Toph said, looking slightly curious.

"Er, what happened to you, Toph?" Aang quickly tried to change the subject. "Weren't you going to go see your parents in their house?"

"Not a chance!" Toph hissed. "It was just Xin Fu and Master Yu trying to catch me! My parents hired them to kidnap me!"

"Let me guess, you beat their butts into the ground?" Sokka said.

"After I learned metalbending, yeah." Toph said innocently, throwing everyone for a loop. "And Twinkletoes, you answer my question first!"

"Er, yeah, there are more, can we find Katara now?" Aang asked, looking sheepish.

"Twinkletoes…" Toph hissed, summoning a small rock from the floor.

"All right, all right!" Aang said. "There's a bunch of them, really. They were forbidden because they were mainly just useful for killing people."

"... Define this 'bunch.'" Sokka said.

"Well…" Aang said slowly. "Can I tell you while we find Katara? Wait!" Aang swirled around towards Kuei. "Earth King, is there any area in Ba Sing Se that is underground and has a bunch of crystals in it?"

"That sounds like Old Ba Sing Se." One of the guards said. "The entire area is underground, and there are known to be glow crystals there."

"Thanks!" Aang said. "I'll explain things on the way, guys."

"I see you defeated Princess Azula. Quite impressive." The three heard as they left the room.

"Hey, you're that Uncle guy!" Sokka exclaimed.

Old Ba Sing Se

"This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so i've been saving it for something important." Katara said, holding the amulet in the air. "I don't know if it would work, but…"

Zuko looked surprised by Katara's offer. However, before he could say anything, the earth rose up and grappled the two's ankles.

"Huh?!" Katara said, swiftly stowing the amulet back into her robes.

"Spirit water, hm?"

A squadron of Dai Li dropped from the ceiling, with one of them bending down to observe the necklace. Katara and Zuko quickly judged that there were at least twenty of them.

"Come with us." One of the Dai Li said calmly.

"Why would we-" Zuko started. One of the Dai Li launched his glove over Zuko's mouth, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence.

"_Come. _It was not an request." The agent repeated, quickly shoving the two forwards with his earthbending.

Underground tunnel

"So let me get this straight." Sokka slowly questioned. "Over history, there were airbenders who went crazy and used their bending to kill people."

"Yeah." Aang responded.

"And the council in charge of your temple wanted you to learn the ways they used to kill people with airbending, so you could crush people's heads by mixing that move you used with your air scooter, blast them with soundwaves, suffocate them like you did, and… uggh…"

"Blow people's lungs up by blasting air down their throat?" Toph finished.

"Well, yeah!" Sokka shrieked. "But why didn't you ever use that stuff? That's what I want to know, Aang! We could have gotten rid of Princess Creepy ages ago!"

"I don't kill people, Sokka." Aang muttered. "It's wrong."

Sokka looked rather shocked by this. But before he could say anything, Toph hissed.

"Everyone, quiet! There's a bunch of people heading this way! And Sugar Queen's with them!"

Swiftly, the four sprang to attention, facing forwards.

Calmly, the group of Dai Li met their gaze. The Gaang and Iroh noted with some dismay that there were outnumbered at least five to one, and that was just what they could see.

And Katara and Zuko were handcuffed by earthen shackles in the middle of the group.

"Dai Li!" Sokka hissed, bringing out his machete. "Release my sister!"

Calmly, one of the group of Dai Li strode forward, leaving Katara behind.

While Aang and Sokka both initially looked at Katara with panicked faces, they realized with only one look that she appeared to be fine.

_Katara's all right? _Sokka thought. _Princess Creepy must have been trying to freak us out. _

He smirked at that thought. _Worked _too _well on Aang._

"Avatar Aang? We will release your comrades. However, we have a condition in exchange for the two of them."

"Okay, first, Sparky is no friend of ours, and your condition's 'release Azula,' am I right?" Toph scoffed. "We know you're working for her!"

The head Dai Li, as well as several of the others, scowled at the accusation.

"No. We do not serve the Princess. We wish to serve Avatar Aang."

There was silence for several seconds as everyone there gaped at the Dai Li.

Even Iroh and Zuko.

"Um… what?" Katara said, temporarily dumbstruck.

"Aang, he's telling the truth…" Toph muttered into Aang's ear.

Regaining his bearings, Aang responded "Why do you want to work for me? Was serving Long Feng not good enough for you?"

"The Dai Li serve the Earth Kingdom, Avatar. Or at least, _we_ do." The head of the group said, nodding towards the group of Dai Li with him. "The Earth King is incompetent, Long Feng only serves himself, and the generals do not trust us." He looked at Iroh with a disgusted expression. "...And while your taste in company is not always the best, you are the only one who we can trust to do the best for the Earth Kingdom."

"Um, one minute." Aang said, pushing Toph and Sokka back down the tunnel and huddling with them. "I… have to talk."

The three huddled up into a group and placed their arms around each other.

"Now what?" Sokka hissed. "They must be trying to spy on us!"

"Uh, no?" Toph said. "They were telling the truth. I can detect lies, remember?"

"Well, then they managed to trick you!" Sokka whispered. "We've been here for weeks and they never seemed to be interested in helping us before!"

"Maybe they think that we're doing what's best for the Earth Kingdom now that the rest tried to help Azula and Long Feng worked with her?" Aang guessed.

"Or maybe they just couldn't find an opening to talk before." Toph hissed "Either way, they've got Sugar Queen and Sparky." Toph said. "And if they wanted to catch us, they could have just threatened them."

Smiling, she added "And if they're honest, we can have minions to boss around."

"Well, Aang?" Sokka said. "Your call, I guess. But seriously, don't trust them!"

"I don't plan to." Aang murmured quietly. Turning back around, he started "All right, you can help. Tell us everything when we get to the palace."

"Zuko, may I speak with you?" Iroh said, grabbing his nephew on the shoulder.

Ba Sing Se prison

_What happened?_

Those were Azula's first thoughts as she slowly regained consciousness, slowly breathing in and out, noticing that doing so was slightly painful.

Her second thought was the realization that she had a muzzle around her mouth, was currently bound to a wall, and covered in metal chains from head to toe in a cell with no apparent door.

While her initial instinct was to thrash around madly and try to free herself, she quickly stopped her instincts and regained control.

Swiftly, what had landed her in the cell came back to her.

Victory. The Earth King at her mercy, even with Mai and Ty Lee bound to the walls by the Avatar and his earthbender. Telling the Avatar of her divine right to rule as he surrendered...

And her defeat.

The Avatar had knocked her to the ground, and then done something she had not been aware he was capable of, literally bending her breath away to stop her firebending and prevent her from fighting him. Afterwards, he had his ally imprison her in a earthen slab while she could not firebend, before she passed out.

There was no way to put it off. She had lost to the Avatar due to an unknown factor. She would have to prepare for him using it again in the future.

_This is merely a temporary setback. I can just wait for the Dai Li to free me, and get back to taking over Ba Sing Se. _Azula thought. _But I lost the element of surprise for the coup, and the Earth King will be hunting the Dai Li down… but he's bound to be incompetent militarily without his generals. I can exploit that._

She mentally smirked as a plan came to mind. It was a simple one, but she would have to do it when she was freed.

_I'll have to be more direct this time; just get the Dai Li to break down the wall and let the army in to conquer the city or at least get a foothold before the Comet arrives. If we haven't done it by then… we can just rebuild the city from the ashes. As for the Avatar… _Here Azula hesitated; knowing that someone had got the better of her, even briefly, was something she had difficulty coming to terms with. _...I lost to that technique of his. I can't rely on my firebending if he does that again. _She thought quietly. _Perhaps I should get Mai to lend me a few of her knives once I get out of here..._

Ba Sing Se Royal Palace

"... and the generals are being held in different cells, but they were supposed to be sent to this complex." One of the Dai Li finished, pointing to a mountainous area in the Agrarian Zone of the city on the map.

"And that's what all of you heard from Long Feng?" Toph questioned, looking around at the Dai Li.

All of them responded with a "yes."

"Okay, they're telling the truth." Toph said.

"This wouldn't happen to be a trap, would it?" Zuko questioned. While he was not sure what to do right now, he knew that Azula had been chasing him for the last few months with the intent to imprison him, and that most of the Dai Li had been working with her just hours earlier, or still were, and likely would throw him to her.

While still wanted to go back home... he did not want to go back just to get locked in a cell and possibly never see daylight again.

And he _especially_ didn't want to see his uncle in the same cell, or Mai, Azula, or his father on the other side of the bars.

Mai would be sad but try to hide it with indifference, Azula would be smug about the whole thing, and his father...

What _would _his father do if he saw him again?

Welcome him back? Unlikely, without the Avatar. Order him to turn himself in for being an embarrassment to the Fire Nation and failing to capture the Avatar?

...Likely.

"If it is a trap, it is not one we are aware of, _Fire Nation_." One of the agents said, scowling at Zuko and Iroh, and causing Zuko to snap back to reality.

"All right, all right, calm down everyone." Katara said quickly, putting her hands up in a placating gesture. "We're all mostly working together here, so let's not fight, okay?"

"Arguments aside, it would be best to head out swiftly." Iroh calmly stated. "Sending a small group would likely be best so that we are not noticed too quickly. The rest should stay here and secure the area around the Palace. Even assuming there are several soldiers to one Dai Li, there aren't nowhere near enough Dai Li to defeat the entire Guard if they launched an assault."

One of the Dai Li nodded. "There were only ever about two hundred of us. Much of the work was done by our reputation, in a way. Most of the citizens weren't willing to fight us. However, anyone who stays behind should be wary for any possible sneak attacks. It is likely that Long Feng could launch another coup, or attempt to bring some of the army to work for him. Or both."

Sokka nodded. "All right everyone! We need some people to stay here, and a team to go free the generals."

Dai Li Headquarters

Quietly, Long Feng focused on the world around him in his private office, in the backup headquarters of the Dai Li.

The situation was not the best, he had to admit. With Kuei against him now, the Avatar working to bring the war to Ba Sing Se, and the Fire Nation having made yet another attempt to breach the walls.

Really, he should have just had the Avatar and his allies sent to Lake Laogai the second they arrived in the city. But that was the past now, and he had to focus on what resources he had left available.

_That Fire Nation girl served her purpose in getting me out of prison and the generals out of the way, at least. _Long Feng thought. _Really, the poor girl was just not a player in this game. Nevertheless, perhaps I can use her and her allies as hostages to keep the Fire Lord away. He will doubtless try to return eventually._

Hearing a knock on the door, he intoned. "Enter."

Calmly, one of the Dai Li entered the room. "Sir, a report. Twenty-six of our agents have gone missing and not reported back in the last 2 hours, after you called all of our members here. What should we do?"

Long Feng thought for a moment. "Assume them to be indisposed, but treat them with caution if you see them. If they are deemed traitorous, take them back here blindfolded and bound up, then interrogate them. If necessary, use the lanterns on them."

"Sir, the lanterns on fellow Dai Li?" The agent said, looking uncomfortable.

"If it is deemed necessary. Now go." Long Feng said calmly.

Outside Dai Li Prison Complex

Quietly, Aang looked at the mountain where the Dai Li and Long Feng had imprisoned the generals. _Well, this is it._ He thought.

"Is that the place?" Katara quietly asked.

"Again, yes." One of the ex Dai Li agents muttered.

There's a lot of Dai Li there… Toph muttered, noticing at least 100 people just inside the main area.

"Can we go, then?" Sokka asked impatiently.

"I'm as ready as i'll ever be." Zuko gazed towards the hideout with a determined look on his face.

_These Dai Li really are scum… _He thought to himself. _Might as well get used to this, though._

He would have preferred to catch the Avatar and go back to the Fire Nation in triumph… but there was no realistic way he could do that at this point. Especially since _Azula_ had lost to the airbender, and Uncle did not seem to be interested in going back home at all, judging by what he had said after the Dai Li had freed him and the waterbender.

As much as he hated to admit it, he had to face it. There was no way to return home; he would likely be arrested if he crossed the borders of the Fire Nation, and the one way he _had _been given to return, capturing the Avatar, was simply impossible to do in the enemy's capital, and even more when he had a whole continent to cross.

Though he could stand working with the Avatar to fight these "Dai Li." He really had a sore spot for leaders and protectors taking advantage of the people under them at their expense.

Even in the Earth Kingdom.

"There's a ton of them guarding the front gate!" Toph hissed. "I'm not sure we could get past them!"

"Guys, if Toph doesn't think we can beat them, we'd better sneak in." Katara murmured.

"...And what's _that _supposed to mean?" Toph questioned, not bothering to look at Katara.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Zuko deadpanned, nodding towards the base.

Were these people always this forgetful about their mission when the enemy was a few hundred feet away?

"Wait!" Aang said.

"What?" Sokka said, turning around. "What is it, Aang? Did you forget something?"

"Can I try something?"

"Okaaaay…" Sokka said slowly, stepping back. "If you've got some super-uber airbending move, use it."

Not bothering to respond to that, Aang sat down quietly.

And he began meditating as he had with Pathik.

The first six chakras sped by quickly. They had remained open, even after he left the guru, he realized, feeling a twinge of guilt over leaving the elder man behind.

_I should have stayed behind a bit longer. _He thought. _I could have stopped Azula without almost killing her if I had the State mastered…_

But that was the past. Right now, he had to focus on the present, and that involved freeing the generals and saving Ba Sing Se.

Quietly, Aang walked down the road.

"Hello, Aang."

"Avatar Roku!" Aang said, bowing politely before his suddenly-appearing predecessor. "I thought we could only speak during the solstice!"

"Most of the time, yes, Aang." Roku answered "However, you are currently very close to achieving the Avatar State-" he gestured to the massive glowing figure further down the road- "And it is easier to contact you when you have a stronger connection to the Avatar Spirit. I thought it would be prudent to see how you were doing."

"Well, I stopped Azula." Aang explained. "She's in prison now, and we're about to bust out the generals. But… I need the Avatar State to free them. And I have to give up my friends to use it…"

"When did anyone ever say that you had to give your friends up to access the State, Aang?" Roku asked, looking confused.

"Huh? Guru Pathik said I had to give up earthly attachment to use the Avatar State!" Aang exclaimed, looking rather baffled.

"Give up?" Roku responded, looking rather surprised. "Aang, you seem to have misunderstood what he meant."

"Huh?" Aang looked rather confused.

"Think, Aang. Did you abandon your other emotions when you let them go?"

Aang thought back. To his fear of the Fire Lord, the guilt he felt over burning Katara and abandoning the world for almost a century, and the grief he felt for his people.

"Well, I don't feel bad about them anymore…"

"Allow me to rephrase that." Roku sighed, looking weary. "Do you think that you abandoned your ability to _feel_ guilt, sorrow, attachment, and fear when you cleared out your chakras? What do you think would happen if you could not feel those emotions any longer? If you lost the ability to truly connect to and care for others?"

Aang looked down. He tried to think of someone; anyone, that he knew, who never felt any of the emotions Roku noted.

The one who sounded most like that was Fire Lord Sozin, who had ordered the deaths of millions in cold blood for his own ends.

"That… sounds really bad." Aang quietly said.

"Indeed it would be…" Roku said quietly. "You seem to have mistaken making accepting your emotions and making peace with them for completely throwing them away, Aang."

"But… why didn't Pathik tell me that?" Aang asked, looking puzzled.

"He likely hoped you would come to the conclusion yourself." Roku replied calmly. "But I suppose that some things would just go over the head of most twelve-year olds…"

Aang rubbed his head, a sheepish look on his face.

"Er… can I go now? Generals to save and all."

"Of course, Aang." Roku said. "The rest of us felt that you seemed distressed… and I decided it would be best to see if you needed help."

Smiling, the older man added "Good luck."

Nodding towards the previous Avatar, Aang continued his trek down the path.

Quietly, as he moved, Aang quietly thought back to all the people that he had known up to this point. Sokka, Toph, Katara, Jet, Haru, Gyatso…

_This is for you… _All _of you. _Aang thought, stopping just a few steps in front of the massive glowing figure.

_Well… here I go, I guess._

And with that decision, he took the last steps forward.

End

A/N: Iroh could get into the Palace because he turned in some of the Dai Li to the palace guards beforehand, so they were grateful and let him through. Also, they didn't recognize him; the Dai Li didn't announce Iroh was the opposing general to the population since "There is no war in Ba Sing Se," and the Royal Guard are the guards of the Earth King, not the Outer Wall. And if the Dai Li told them, even though it's the truth, the Guard wouldn't believe them.

Why Azula isn't dead like Huo-Ting… asphyxiation by itself isn't fatal. Though, if you got hit with it and it's completed, you're unconscious for the near future, and if there's nobody to defend you, the move might as well be fatal unless your enemy doesn't want to kill you. Aang didn't; Zaheer, not so much. Too much air deprivation can still result in permanent brain damage, though Aang stopped before that point was hit.

Also, Iroh gave Zuko the same speech as in canon (offscreen), but Azula was locked up this time and couldn't offer a chance to go home. So, while Zuko still hasn't fully thrown in with Aang, he's headed there.

As for Aang's talk with Roku, that explanation is how I'm interpreting what Pathik meant. Inability to feel grief, doubt, or guilt, and a lack of earthly attachments/empathy, which would result from someone abandoning their emotions instead of accepting/making peace with them, are some of the warning signs of a sociopath. I'm assuming Pathik didn't want a sociopathic Avatar.

Please send me your reviews, and tell me what you think!


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